A just war can only be waged as a last resort.
All non-violent options must be exhausted
before the use of force can be justified.
A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority.
Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or
groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the
society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.
A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered.
For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always
considered
to be a just cause.
Further, a just war can only be fought with "right" intentions:
the only permissible objective of a just war is to
redress the injury.
A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance
of success. Deaths and injury incurred
in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.
The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace.
More specifically, the peace established after
the war must be preferable
to the peace that would have prevailed if the
war had not been fought.
The violence used in the war must be proportional to
the injury suffered. States are prohibited
from using force not necessary
to attain the limited objective of addressing
the injury suffered.
The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants
and non-combatants. Civilians are
never permissible targets of war, and every
effort
must be taken to avoid
killing civilians. The
deaths of civilians are justified only if
they are unavoidable
victims of a deliberate attack on
a military target. Just
War
